The 2025 National Falls Prevention Action Plan, highlighted at the September 2024 National Falls Prevention Summit, outlines six strategic priorities to reduce falls among older adults. One such priority is improving data systems to better understand why and how older people fall. This includes gathering both needs-based data, which highlights service gaps and areas of risk, and asset-based data, which focuses on community strengths and resources.

The 2025 National Falls Prevention Action Plan seeks to “Improve data by increasing the quality and range of information, both quantitative and qualitative, about why older people fall and under what circumstances...and expand research via longitudinal (e.g., lasting 10 years) studies...”

By aligning their local initiatives with this national strategy, community groups and organizations can more effectively plan, evaluate, and sustain falls prevention efforts.

Why use data in falls prevention programs?

Data-driven decision-making ensures that falls prevention programs are:

• Targeted—Directing resources to communities with the highest need.
• Fundable—Providing evidence to support grant applications and public investment.
• Collaborative—Strengthening partnerships through shared goals and measurable impact.
• Accountable —Enabling continuous improvement through outcome monitoring.

Gather and leverage your own falls data

A strong program starts with comprehensive needs and resource assessment. Combining needs-based and asset-based approaches offers a balanced picture:

• Needs-based mapping identifies service gaps and barriers. This approach can sometimes feel stigmatizing or deficit-focused, limiting solution-building.
• Asset-based mapping highlights existing community strengths, resources, and networks, which can inspire and guide sustainable, community-driven change.

Approaches to data collection:

• Interviews with older adults, caregivers, service providers
• Focus groups or listening sessions
• Community observations and needs/resource mapping
• Photovoice or appreciative inquiry
• Surveys (paper, digital, or phone)
• Review of existing reports or assessments

Engaging the community to understand data

Sharing data with the community is a powerful way to ensure falls prevention efforts are transparent and community driven. Data is often collected about communities but never returned to them. Closing this feedback loop can foster trust, build partnerships, and turn insights into action.

Rather than presenting data in a static report, interactive approaches invite community members to interpret, question, and apply the data themselves. This process can uncover local insights, highlight new priorities, and support shared decision-making.

Solutions to common challenges and data limitations

Success stories of organizations using data to make a greater impact

Sanford Health, South Dakota

Through its “Stand Strong” initiative, Sanford Health used cross-sector data to design and expand a statewide falls prevention system.

• How they got the data:
  • Partnered with one urban and four rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS)/fire departments to access lift-assist call data. These partnerships were formalized with data use agreements that allowed for HIPAA-compliant referrals to community programs.
  • Worked with the South Dakota Department of Health to analyze statewide injury surveillance data (hospital discharges, mortality statistics) to monitor trends and support funding.
  • Collaborated with local GIS experts to map fall injuries by ZIP code, using aggregated health and EMS data to identify rural “hot spots.”
• How they used the data:
  • Analyzed EMS lift-assist data monthly to flag repeat fallers, leading to targeted outreach and referrals to programs like CAPABLE and A Matter of Balance.
  • Used geographic mapping to guide where to expand classes, ensuring rural communities were not left behind.
  • Conducted ongoing data reviews to track fall-related mortality and program outcomes and strengthen funding proposals and sustainability.
  • Strengthening the sustainability of both its cross-sector referral platform and its evidence-based programs by training university students and volunteers, offering continuing education units (CEUs) to health professionals, and embedding referral processes across EMS and health systems.

Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, New York

Stony Brook is developing a long-term integrated data strategy that connects health system-based fall risk screening with community prevention efforts.

• How they get the data:
  • Electronic Medical Record (EMR) reports are used to track the proportion of older adult patients screened for fall risk (nearly 100%) and the proportion of positive screens. The EMR is being modified to standardize the fall risk care order set to be able to discretely record what interventions (i.e. referrals) are prescribed by the provider for at-risk patients during an encounter, across the enterprise (inpatient/outpatient).
  • Collaborating with their hospital network’s trauma and rehabilitation departments, they access discharge records for patients treated for falls. Internal analytics staff de-identify and segment the data by age and ZIP code.
  • Partner with community-based organizations and local health departments to layer ZIP code-level fall injury data from surveillance systems and Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs).
  • Collecting a custom patient survey in partnership with their quality improvement team to gather insights into fall prevention attitudes, preferences, and barriers for patient presenting to the Emergency Department for a fall-related injury.
• How they use the data:
  • Updated EMR fall risk care order set will allow providers to refer at-risk patients to the evidence-based falls prevention team within the EMR. The evidence-based falls prevention team receives email alerts when patients are referred within the EMR for prompt follow-up. Any provider can also use a fall prevention message pool within the EMR to request the falls prevention team conduct follow-up and coordination.
  • A referral feedback loop will allow the falls prevention program team to share outreach outcomes with referring clinical teams, demonstrating impact and improving coordination.
  • ZIP code mapping prioritizes new class locations in rural areas and other communities with limited access.
  • Patient survey results reveal a gap in fall risk perception, prompting the development of more tailored discharge instructions and education materials.
• Looking ahead:
  • The team will analyze EMR records to identify the impact of systematic and coordinated clinical-community integrated fall prevention efforts to demonstrate potential cost-savings and improved patient outcomes.

Practical tips for getting started

To harness the power of data in showing program impact:

• Ask your local health department: “Do you track falls-related injuries at the ZIP code or county level?”
• Ask your state health department: “Do you track falls-related injuries at the ZIP code or county level?”
• Start with what’s available—Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), CHNAs, EMS logs, or one ZIP code
  • Data on older adult falls is collected for a variety of purposes by a range of stakeholders.  Consider the following falls data sources and how they might support your efforts.
• Keep requests clear and focused (e.g., "fall-related ER visits, ages 65+, by ZIP code, past 3 years")
• Keep in mind that the most recently available public health data might be several years old, as data collection and analysis take time to process.
• Build relationships: Approach hospitals, EMS, and public health as data collaborators, not just sources.
• Consider data-sharing agreements early if working with clinical or HIPAA-protected data.
• Partner with universities or students for help with mapping, data analysis, or surveys.

Overview of Falls-Related Data Sources

Tools for data collection

Sample data request email

Subject: Request for Falls-Related Injury Data

Dear [Health Department Contact],

I’m writing on behalf of [Organization/Coalition Name], which provides falls prevention programming to older adults. To better target our services and support funding requests, we’re hoping to access local level data related to falls.

Specifically, we’re looking for:

• Falls-related emergency room visits or hospitalizations
• Data by ZIP code or county, ideally from the past 3–5 years

Please let me know if this data is available or if there is a preferred contact for injury surveillance. Thank you!

Best,

 [Your Name]
 [Title/Organization]
 [Email/Phone]

Checklist—what data to ask for

• Emergency room visits or hospitalizations due to falls
• Fall-related deaths by location
• ZIP-code or county-level injury maps
• Trends over time (e.g., last 3–5 years)
• EMS/911 fall call volumes

Resources for data collection

• 211 by United Way: https://www.211.org
• CDC WISQARS: https://wisqars.cdc.gov
•  Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA): Search hospital websites or https://www.communitybenefitinsight.org
• Fall Prevention Center of Excellence: https://homemods.org/
• National Council on Aging: https://www.ncoa.org
• State Injury and Aging Reports: Visit your state health department’s website under "Data" or "Injury Prevention"

Photo copyright for NCOA use only

This project was supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $5,000,000 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.